


Left Turn pt 2

by Fangirl71



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 16:04:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16066574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirl71/pseuds/Fangirl71
Summary: Takes place after episode 75.





	Left Turn pt 2

Sammy’s car came to a screeching halt in front of what used to be the King Falls AM radio station. Without bothering to turn off the engine, he opened the door and slowly got out of the car, unable to believe that the station was no longer there, but knowing that he had somehow caused it’s disappearance.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, and he never heard any of the other cars pull into the gravel parking lot. But he turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He was expecting to see Ben or maybe Troy. He was somewhat surprised to see Lily standing there with what looked like tears in her eyes. 

“Are you OK? Are you hurt?” She asked frantically putting a hand on his face, then patting him down turning him around checking for injuries before throwing her arms around him and giving him a tight hug.

He hugged her back, whispering “I’m OK,” into her hair. 

“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you! What were you thinking? I already lost one brother! What were you thinking?” She barely took a breath.

“I don’t know. It… It called me. And I just wanted to find Jack.”

“You idiot! It would kill me if I lost you too! Don’t you know that?” She pushed away from him yelling. “God! I really hate you sometimes!”

Sammy just stood staring at her for a minute. He hadn’t seen her look that vulnerable sine he told her that Jack had gone missing. “I love you too, Lily,” he said matter of factly. 

The spell was broken when they heard someone clear their throat. Lily quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, not wanting anyone else to know she had been crying, before turning around to see Ben standing there. He didn’t say anything, just gave her what he hoped was a reassuring look before asking Sammy if he was OK.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Was there anyone here? Did you get ahold of Chet?” Sammy asked before Ben could try to get anything more out of him.

“We called Chet,” Emily jumped in, “he didn’t answer, but that doesn’t mean he was here. We heard him sign off and say he was leaving. He probably had to make a stop somewhere.”

“What about Walt? Did he really get away?”

Emily’s hesitation was all the answer that Sammy needed. He knew Walt was gone, and he knew it was his fault. The tears threatened to start falling. Before giving anyone else a chance to ask if he was OK again, he asked about Cecil and Hershel. He heard what happened on his car radio before he spotted the lights.

This time it was Troy who answered. “Mr. Baumgartner is pretty shaken up, as you can imagine. He said Mr. Sheffield is back to sleeping peacefully as if he had never woken up in the first place. “

“Hershel’s still at the hospital of course, refusing to leave Cecil’s room.” Ben added.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean…”

“We know.” Ben said.

“But I didn’t think that… I just didn’t think.”

“It’s alright, Buddy. “ Troy choked through his own tears.

“I just…” Tears finally started to flow down Sammy’s cheeks. 

“Sammy. “ Lily said, squeezing his hand briefly. 

Everyone was quiet for a moment, waiting for Sammy to compose himself when they saw them again, the rainbow lights were back!

Troy pulled his pistol and started firing into the air! It was no use! The lights were growing brighter! Sammy raised his hand to block his eyes but it was no use, it became increasingly difficult to see! A deep sinister laugh accompanied the lights. Sammy immediately recognized it as The Shadow Maker!

There was another sound that Sammy could barely hear above the laugh. It was a scream! Someone was screaming!

He looked around but he couldn’t see anything at all through the blinding lights! He couldn’t even see his own hand in front of his face any more! Then Sammy realized where the scream was coming from. It was him! He was the one screaming!

 

* * *

Sammy bolted up in his bed, a scream still on his lips. He was sweating, but his comforter and sheets were in a tangled mess on the floor. He was painting, trying to catch his breath. 

He looked at the clock on his nightstand. 3:27am, too early to call Ben. He got up to make himself some coffee, he knew after months of this that he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep.

He sat at the table starring into his coffee, just warming his hands on the outside f the King Falls AM mug.

A knock at his door startled Sammy. His coffee had grown cold. He looked at the mug of dark liquid that he hadn’t taken a single sip of wondering how long he had been sitting at the table? It was long enough for the sun to have come up.

The knock came again. Sammy got up to answer the door, surprised that not only was the sun up, but it had apparently been up for quite some time. On the way to the door, he accidently kicked over the almost empty bottle of Jamison Whisky that he didn’t even bother to hide anymore.

He wasn’t at all surprised to see Ben standing there. He didn’t even greet his best friend, he just opened the door and walked back to the table wondering if it was too early for a drink or not.

“Wow. You look like shit.” Ben said by way of a greeting.

“Fuck you.”

“Hey!” Ben said, not really socked by his friend’s response.

“Sorry. I just didn’t get much sleep last night.” Sammy said rubbing his hands over his face. He needed a shave. And he didn’t need a mirror to now that his eyes were bloodshot. 

“Nightmares again?”

“Still. “

Ben picked up the Jamison bottle, shaking it slightly to see how much liquid was left. “Self medicating not helping, huh?”

Sammy just glared at his best friend. 

Ben went to the window and opened the blinds, noticing, not for the first time, what a mess Sammy’s apartment had become. Its not like Sammy was ever a neat freak, but this was a new level of mess. Empty take out containers and liquor bottles were spilling out of the trash, if Sammy had even bothered to take them into his small kitchen at all. Mail piled up so high that it had started to spill onto the floor. A layer of dust so thick you couldn’t tell what color the coffee table was supposed to be had settled everywhere. 

Then he looked at Sammy. Really looked at him for the first time in a long time. Not only did he look like he hadn’t slept in a week, but he looked like that was the last time he had showered too.

“When was the last time you left this apartment?”

Sammy just shrugged.

“Clean yourself up. Get dressed. We’re going to Rosie’s. “ 

“Thanks, but I’m not interested.” Sammy said still staring into his coffee.

“It wasn’t a request.”

“Damnit, Ben!” Sammy looked up for the first time since Ben arrived.

“No!.” Ben raised his voice. “Stop! This is not helping. You have to get out of here. Go outside. Interact with people.”

“Ben…”

“Don’t dad voice me. I’m sick of it and you lost your dad privileges based on the condition of this pig sty!” 

Sammy knew when he was defeated. He reluctantly got up to take a shower and go to Rosie’s.

* * *

Once they arrived at Rosie’s Sammy realized how hungry he relay was. While he sat there actually drinking the cup of steaming black coffee enjoying the warm feeling of it gliding down his throat he saw Troy stroll in with Emily, Lily, and Mary Jenkins in tow. Yep, he should have known this was all a set up. Damn those fucking nightmares! If he’d been able to get any sleep at all he would have been able to see through Ben’s plan.

“I see you’ve been busy texting,” he said to Ben as he waved to his friends.

Ben thought about denying it, but didn’t bother. He knew it would just upset Sammy more.

“So you guys picked a nice place for an intervention” he said once everyone was seated with their own cups of coffee. “Did you pick Rosie’s so that I wouldn’t make a scene and walk out?”

“It’s not an intervention, Sammy.” Emily answered, her normally gentle voice even softer than usual, as if she was trying not to spook him. “Benny just let us know that you boys were having a late breakfast and asked if we wanted to join you since no one has seen you in a few weeks.” 

“I’m sorry, guys. I just haven’t felt like being social.”

“I know, Sammy, “ Mary said. “I understand. Don’t you think that I just wanted to crawl in a hole and hide or worse when Tim was gone? I get it. Of course I do! And so does Ben.”

Sammy could feel the tears stinging behind his eyes again. He was struggling to hold them back.

“But you can’t let this defeat you!” Mary continued.

“I’m jus so sorry for everything that I’ve done.”

“Stop it, Sammy! Just stop it now! None of this is your fault. You didn’t send those damn lights up to the station. You didn’t call Walt and make him come out to help you…”

“But…” Sammy interrupted, the tears finally breaking loose.

“But nothing! Don’t you think I’d have marched myself right up to the gates of hell itself if I thought it would have brought Tim back to me faster? Or that Ben wouldn’t have traded places with Emily in a heartbeat if he could have?”

“Of course, but…”

“I’m not finished! You need to stop with this pity party that you’re throwing. Ben told us you’ve been having a hard time sleeping. And I’ve seen you more than once leaving the Bent and Dent with a bottle or two of liquor tucked under your arm. You don’t answer your phone. You don’t reply to your text messages. And I know you were home last week when I came by to see you. Your car was outside and I heard the TV. But no more! It’s over. You need to find something to help you keep going. I had the kids. Ben had his notebook. And you know he’s been working on one for Jack too. And don’t tell us you don’t believe in any of this stuff after all you’ve been through or you wouldn’t have gone up that mountain in the first place. So what’s it going to take to get you out of your apartment? Do I have to physically kick you sorry behind?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say. I don’t know what to do.” Sammy said through the tears. 

“Well, the first thing you’re going to do is find a reason to get out of the apartment every day.” Troy said. “Either get a job, or get to helping Loretta and me with my campaign. With us both working full time we don’t have a lot of time to get out and shake hands and kiss babies so to speak.” 

“And, I’m moving in.” Lily chimed in.

“What? No way!” Sammy shouted a little louder than he meant to.

“Yes. I am. First of all, hotel living is getting to expensive. Second, you need someone to be there with you. Ben told me about the state of your apartment. And we are al sick of getting 3am phone calls because you can’t sleep.”

“What do you mean? I haven’t been calling you. Or anyone else for that matter.” Sammy protested.

“Check your phone, Sammy, “ Ben said; “you called me at nearly 4:00 this morning.”

Sammy looked at the call log on his phone and was shocked to see that he had not only called Ben this morning, but that he’d made dozens of calls over the past few months to not only Ben, but Lily and Troy as well. “How?”

“It’s OK, Buddy.” Troy said.

“What? What do I say? What do I talk about?”

“Nothing. You just…” Ben hesitated.

“Cry.” Emily finished for him. Sammy figured either she was spending nights with Ben or that he had told her about the calls. Either way, Sammy wasn’t at all surprised that she knew what the calls were about.

* * *

Sammy cleaned up his apartment, and after a few weeks he and Lily fell into an uneasy routine. But it was nice not to be alone sometimes. He was helping Try and Loretta with the campaign. He spent time at the library helping Emily shelf books. He even got a part time job with Troy working security at the mall. Mostly he worked nights, so that helped with the nightmares. Once a week, at her insistence, he had dinner with Mary, Tim, and the kids at their house. Tim had moved back in, but he could tell that things were still sometimes a little tense and he thought his presence helped them as much as it helped him. 

Sometimes he would find himself driving up to Predition Woods, sitting at the trailhead that lead up to The Devil’s Doorstep. He had no intention of going there again. Not now. Not alone. Not so unprepared. But somehow he felt closer to Jack, even though he didn’t feel the pull anymore. He still didn’t think Ben could bring Jack back, but he did give him Jack’s notebook. And he even helped when he thought he could. But he was afraid to start hoping again. He didn’t think he would be able to take it if he got his hopes up and they never found Jack. But he did have enough strength to humor Ben.

Almost every day he drove up to the King Falls AM parking lot. He tried to get a job on the construction crew but that didn’t pan out. He just wanted the station up and running again. He wanted to be home again. And yes, King Falls had become home. And King Falls AM had become his reason for living. He still thought of leaving sometimes. Just packing up his car and driving off in the middle of the night. But then he remembered how much he would miss this place and his friends. So he stayed. It was better to stay. Even if he never did get Jack back, even if he never heard Jack’s voice calling him to the Void again, it was still better than leaving.

He had occasionally gotten calls that he thought were from Debbie. He could hear voices on the other end of the line. He could hear her voice but he couldn’t make out what he was saying. But he knew she was still out there. Still trying to get them to help her close the Void. Still struggling against the Shadows. He hoped somehow that he’d be able to at least help her, not let her suffer the same fait as Jack.


End file.
